A Village Defence Guard (VDG) opened fire on Friday night after spotting suspicious movement near his home in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district.
A police officer confirmed that the incident took place in the Dessa area late on Friday night, after which massive reinforcements were dispatched to the area.
People in the area have been advised to remain vigilant and requested to cooperate with security agencies. The official said, “A VDG member fired a few warning shots from his assigned rifle after noticing suspicious activity near his house in the Dessa area. Immediately thereafter, necessary reinforcements were dispatched to the area ensure security and maintain peace.”
Other village defence groups have been properly briefed and sensitised to remain alert while extending full cooperation with the security forces as and when they are required, he added.
Amid fierce counter-insurgency operations in the higher reaches of the Chenab Valley, the Army has intensified efforts to strengthen the grassroots security, imparting combat training to village defence groups (VDGs) in Doda district, officials said.
Around 150 VDG members, including women volunteers, from 17 remote villages along the Doda–Chamba border are undergoing intensive training in handling automatic rifles, minor tactics, self-defence, bunker construction and repelling enemy attacks, they said.
In late December 2025, security forces launched massive cordon-and-search operations (CASO) across the upper reaches of Doda, Kishtwar and Poonch. These operations were triggered by sightings of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror suspects moving in small groups in forest areas of the Jammu division.
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